‘It was actually a sweep’ - R Ashwin on India’s series loss against New Zealand

Published - 20 Jan 2026, 15:08 IST | Updated - 20 Jan 2026, 15:08 IST

Legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin did not mince words after Team India’s ODI series loss against New Zealand. It was Men in Blue’s first-ever ODI series loss against the Kiwis at home.

After a close encounter in the opening match, the visitors dominated the hosts in the next two matches to clinch the series 2-1. What made the win even more special is that the Kiwis were without many of their regulars in the ODI set-up, and still ended up on the winning side, exceeding everyone’s expectations.

Reflecting upon Team India’s horrendous performance, Ravichandran Ashwin was critical of the Shubman Gill-led side. According to the spinner, the 2-1 victory was as good as a clean sweep for the visitors, considering their inexperienced side.

"Everything will be forgotten now. There is the T20 World Cup and the IPL now. So, how the environment will be there, things will go accordingly. We all know this. But if the T20 World Cup does not go well and people don't perform in the IPL too, there will be pressure on them. But if everything goes well, this series will be forgotten. In my books, New Zealand won the series 5-0. They won two but threatened to win one more too so it was actually a sweep," he said on his YouTube channel 'Ash ki Baat'.

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The 39-year-old further added that the hosts did not give any strong response whenever they were put under pressure by the opponents. He stated that the Men in Blue played soft cricket and had no answers to the opposition’s attack.

"Looking from the outside, I think the Indian team's response has been a bit flat. That response is not there. Always, the team, when they have been put under pressure, the Indian team has found ways in the past and has shown that habit. I just felt that the response felt flat and that was disappointing. I dont think we put them under pressure. We played very soft cricket," he concluded.

It was a clinical show from the Kiwis, as they won their first-ever ODI bilateral series against India in India. The two teams will now shift their focus to the T20I series ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.